Anyone venturing into downtown Huntington in October may notice groups of ninja, soul reapers, and other assortments of cartoon and video game characters roaming the streets. This is because Tsubasacon has returned to the Riverfront Ballroom and Conference Center, at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena, for three days of celebrating gaming, anime, and manga.

Hosting its seventh annual convention since 2004, Tsubasacon will bring hundreds of anime and manga fans from across West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio and as far away as Michigan. Registration hours are from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. The event will be open from 12 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 a.m. on Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Full day passes will be sold at the Registration Desk for $25 for Friday, $35 for Saturday, and $15 for Sunday. However, for a better value, weekend passes will be sold for $40. All passes allow for re-entry into the event. Registration is available online at www.tsubasacon.org or at the door in Huntington.

This year's roster of guests does not disappoint either. Several new guests are attending Tsubasacon include actress Jamie Marchi best known for roles in Witchblade (Masane Amaha), Soul Eater (Liz Thompson), actress Leah Clark, who was the voice of Noah in Full Metal Alchemist and Paris in Shin Chan, actor Chuck Huber known for his roles as Hiei in Yu Yu Hakosho, Android 17 in Dragonball, Jakie Cabe of Funimation known for part as Kaitou in Yu Yu Hakusho and Sabertooth in Dragonball Z, and Lord Don Kee in Dragonball GT, and actor Spike Spencer who has voiced such notable anime roles as Shinji Ikari (Evangelion series) and Dr. Shiouji (Excel Saga.)

Also appearing will be comic creator Gina Biggs, author of Red String, Erstwhile, and Love of Sausage. Comic creator Jen Lee Quick, author of Off*Beat and Renascence, and musical entertainment will be provided by The Extraordinary Contraptions, whose unique blend of acoustic and electric steampunk-themed rock has been pleasing con goers all over the country!

Tsubasacon's annual visit brings in a lot of business to the downtown Huntington area. Last year over 900 patrons gathered for the three-day event, giving local restaurants and hotels a bump in revenue for the weekend. We are proud to be assisting the Huntington Area Food Bank for the 2010 Convention. The HAFB is the hub in a network of food donors and more than 290 agencies that serve hungry people in 17 counties in West Virginia, eastern Kentucky and southeastern Ohio. The HAFB provides products to member agencies that feed the needy. Here at Tsubasacon, we are proud to assist them in trying to raise funds and canned items during the course of our convention. In fact, we would encourage as many as our attendees to donate at least one or more cans of non-perishable items at the convention so we can help fulfill their mission of ending hunger in the local area. As a way of saying thanks, you will be entered in a drawing for a ton of fabulous prizes that we will be giving away during the weekend. You can also purchase tickets at the event. All monies and items raised will go to the food bank. Please help us out today

For more information, visit www.Tsubasacon.org.

Press Release for September 14, 2010